The Legend of Zelda: Orchestra
by Nezuban
Summary: It is twenty years after the events of Majora's Mask. Hyrule is at peace, and its hero has laid down his sword and moved on with his life. Now something is coming to shatter that peace. Can Lyon, a young man from Kakariko, help defend it?
1. A Storm

The Legend of Zelda:  

Orchestra

By Nezuban

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_Disclaimer_: I do not own any of the LoZ franchise, its characters, or locations that have been copyrighted.  I do, however, own the aspects of the story that I have created.

_Author's Note_: This story that I'm writing is based off of an old story here on FanFiction.net, entitled "Legend of Zelda: Zagorshida."  Since FF.N doesn't allow reposts, and since this is a pet-project of mine, I am re-writing the story in the hopes that it will be more full and complete.  I am using some of the same characters, but with different motivations, and a better (I hope) storyline.  On that note, let us begin!

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_Author's Note II_: This story takes place about twenty years after the events in Majora's Mask.

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Chapter One

A Storm 

Storm clouds were gathering in the north and in the west, great black thunderheads with crackling bolts of lightning jumping across the sky, or slamming into the earth.  Even from a great distance, you could see the rain pouring down as a great gray blur beneath the clouds.  It was a warm mid-summer day, and the air to the east and south was humid.  It was a classic example of weather.

            To those, of course, who understood what was happening.  To the rest, they heard the rumblings of a storm, and hurriedly made their way to shelter.  

            Under an open pavilion near the gates of Hyrule Castle City, Lyon was handing three small blue stones to a wizened old woman for a loaf of honeybread.  As she handed the bread to the young man, she groaned and sucked in air through her teeth.  

            "I can't see anymore, lad," she said slowly.  "But I can feel when bad weather is coming."  She looked at him with eyes clouded by white.  "It's a storm, it is, lad.  Best be on your way.  And close the entrance as you leave; this old tent has lasted me a score and five years.  It will endure this storm, too.  G'day!"  Lyon smiled, and thanked the woman as he left the great green pavilion.

            Lyon's home was not far from where the pavilion sat, but with the rain already starting to come down, the distance to Kakariko Town seemed to grow.  Before the dark-haired, swarthy young man reached the bridge over the Hyrule River, he heard a great boom, accompanied by a white flash, and the rain began to fall all the harder.  By the time he reached the steps leading to the town, he was drenched.

            "When it rains," he said quietly to no one as he ascended the steps, "it pours."  Quickening his pace, he found himself entering the village just as the rain began to fall slantwise in a ferocious gale.  No one was outside any longer, even the band of carpenters always hard at work building the town into a city.  The great tree that was the centerpiece of the Green of Kakariko was losing leaves and branches in the wind.  "Does it ever!"  He was running now, and within a few moments, was inside his small house near the windmill, listening as the rain pounded his roof and windows and the wind howled in the mid afternoon.  As he looked out his window, he could only guess that the sky was dark as night, but he could not see it through the torrential rain.

            Safely inside with warm and (luckily) dry bread, he changed from his wet clothes into a homespun red-brown tunic and black trousers, and dry cap.  He began to hum a tune as he set about putting some tea on the fire and slice his bread before storing it in his larder.  

            Outside, the rain still pounded and the wind still howled.

            "Wow," Lyon said as a clap of thunder shook the windows of his house.  "We've had storms a-plenty this summer, but the hardest they fell lasted barely five minutes."  He threw another chunk of wood into the fire.  "Glad I'm not outside anymore.  I hope that baker is okay."  When the tea was done, he sat on his bed and tried to block out the storm as he pondered what to do with the rest of his day.

            "If the storm doesn't end soon, or at least let up, I'll be stuck in here all day."  The tea was still very hot as he sipped it, and tasted of lemons.  He took a bit of the old baker's honeybread, and it was as flavorsome as bread could be.  

Suddenly, he heard a sharp rapping on his door, and then silence.  "Who in their right mind could be out at this time?" he wondered aloud as he rose to answer the door.  When he opened it, he saw nothing but the torrential rain falling.  "Some flying debris, maybe?"  Then, as he went to shut the door, happened to look at the front of it, and saw a sheet of parchment nailed to the wood.  A shiver went up and down his spine as he considered the implications.

            "Damn.  It must be extremely important if they go out in a storm like this.  I wonder who put this here?"  He ripped it off, closed the door, and looked at the note.  It only had a handful of hastily scribed words on it.

"_Stay at home this night.  Harm comes this way_."

And it was unsigned.  Just a warning note, and as vague as one could get.  

            "But who put this there?  And what harm?"  Another shiver.  "How could they get the note on the door so quick and leave?  Why?  It's not likely that I'd go anywhere tonight anyhow, not with the storm."  Another shiver.  It was just far too creepy an event that made him get anxious like so.  He looked out his window again, at the rain, and saw a flash of lightning, as well as a face in his window.

            "Ah!" he cried out in surprise.  "W-who…!?"  There was another flash, and the face was gone.  Lyon stared at the window for another good minute, wide-eyed and blinking, before he could get his heartbeat back to normal.  "I think I'm not looking out the window anymore," he said out loud, partially to ease himself, and partially because he was too damn nervous to not care how ridiculous he looked talking to himself.  

            With a sudden, anxious impulse, he reached to his belt and pulled out his dirk, staring hard at the fire as it reflected along the blade.  "It might be a small comfort, but at this point, it's enough!"  He gripped it tightly in his hand, aimlessly tracking patterns in the air as he looked out the window every few moments.  At some point, he fell into a restless sleep, haunted by images of battle, women crying, men screaming and dying, and lone figure in green lying face down in Lake Hylia, with three arrows in his back, and a blue-hilted sword in his left hand.  

*******

It was the next morning when Lyon woke, his clothes rumpled and dirk lying on the floor after falling out of his sleeping hand.  He blinked a few times, and went to look out the window.

            The storm had ceased, and the sky was bright and clear and warm; either in the night or earlier, and people all around Kakariko were picking up the pieces of whatever had blown into their yards.  Many were picking up tiles that had blown off of rooftops, others were picking up branches that had blown off the tree.  As for the tree, it had been nearly uprooted, Lyon saw.  It was tilted, with a few thick roots poking out from the ground.  The gale from the day before had left it scarred, almost; the branches and limbs had been wrenched so hard in the wind that they were now stuck in a position that looked like there was a perpetual wind.  

            Sighing heavily, Lyon put a cap over his dark hair and went outside to see what had become of his home.  

            The damage was substantial, but not irreparable.  Many tiles had blown off his roof, and were scattered among the tiles from many other roofs.  There were cracks in the walls of his home, which could easily be fixed with a bonding cement that he could get from the town's carpenters.  The verge under his window, however, was most interesting to Lyon, however, as there were no trace of footprints to be found.  

            "Then whose face was that?" he thought.  "Must have been nerves from the storm.  That's all."  But his reassurances did not ease the anxiety that was still around him.  There was still the matter of the note.  The nail was still on the door, and the parchment was still on his floor from where he'd dropped it the night before.  He shook off his nervousness, and continued to assess the damage.  

            "Quite the storm last night," shouted a voice from the hill below his house.  "Wouldn't you say, Lyon?"  Lyon looked down to the speaker, and saw that it was his neighbor, Mac, a lean bearded man with more gray in his hair than brown.  

            "Yeah!" Lyon shouted back to him, climbing down the steps in front of his home.  "Where you here during it at all?"  

            "No.  We were up in Castle City, visiting my mother-in-law.  I tell you, I thought I'd never see the day when Mother Nature would best that old hag at throwing a tantrum!"  He bellowed at his own joke, and Lyon gave his own guffaw as well.  Mac's mother-in-law's temper was loud and monstrous, as all the folk near his home knew.  "But that storm came in and I didn't think we'd last the night.  Massive damage in the city, too.  A part of the castle itself was destroyed!"

            "What!  You're kidding!  What part?"  Lyon couldn't see the castle from his home, as the windmill blocked it from view

            "The keep itself.  Several bricks and stones were just lifted out and carried to the Castle Gardens.  So now there's just a big hole in the keep." 

            "Whoa…"  Hyrule Castle was the sturdiest built structure in the Kingdom, and a high curtain wall that was rumored to be nearly a yard thick at the thinnest surrounded the keep itself!  "But wait.  If the castle was damaged like that, why did Kakariko only have some tiles blown off and a tree uprooted?"  Mac shrugged.

            "Kakariko's surrounded by hills, the castle's _on_ a hill, maybe.  I don't really know.  But I can tell you this: the Royal Guard is in a frenzy this morning.  The gates to the city are blocked off now, and they're keeping everyone in their homes and shops.  I heard one of 'em saying that anyone caught outside their home until everything was organized would be imprisoned."

            "Are you serious!  Wow, I wonder what all this is about."  Changing topics, Lyon said, "So what's the damage on your house like?"

            "About the same as everyone else.  Tiles gone, cracked walls.  I see that's all that's up with yours.  Need help fixing it?"  

            "In a bit, probably.  I'll give you guys a hand, too.  By the way, did you find a note nailed to your door this morning?"

            "A note?  No.  Why?"

            "Well, during the storm yesterday I was just sitting on my bed when I heard someone pounding on the door.  I opened it and there was a parchment note nailed to it.  All it said was, 'Stay at home this night.  Harm comes this way.'"  Mac frowned, folding his arms across his chest.

            "No, I haven't seen anything like that.  You didn't see anyone leaving your house at all?  No?  That's very strange."

            "Not the strangest, though.  Shortly after I got the note, there was a flash of lightning and I saw a face staring at my in the window.  Another flash, and the face was gone.  This morning, I couldn't find any hint of footprints in the mud beneath the window, and I doubt the mud would have washed away so suddenly."

            "Scary," Mac said, looking up at the window.  Then he grinned.  "Spooked by a little storm, Lyon?"  He chuckled, but he didn't sound very amused.  Lyon just furrowed his brow at the man.  "I don't know what to tell ya, lad.  But hey, you're a big boy, you can take care of yourself.  Right?"  Lyon nodded, smiling grimly, then turned back to his home.  "I'll be over in a bit to lend a hand, Lyon."  

            "Thanks, Mac.  Let me know if you need my help!"

            "Will do!"  Lyon set about picking up what tiles he could, occasionally finding some that were not his own.  Already, the carpenters were running around the town, asking the people what they needed and telling them the cost.  Doing the sums in his head, Lyon figured it would cost him about six hundred rupees to fix all the damage to his home.  He could afford it, but only barely.  When a carpenter came by to ask him what he needed, the total cost was just about exactly what he'd figured.  The carpenter went on his way, and Lyon saw that Mac was yelling at a different carpenter about the cost for his home.  

            As early afternoon came around, Lyon saw that his larder was low on milk and cheese.  Since he had nothing else to do for the day, as he couldn't enter Hyrule Castle City to get to his work at the Bazaar, he would head to Lon Lon Ranch for what he needed.  Grabbing a sack for his supplies and putting a cap on his head, Lyon made his way to Hyrule Field and the Ranch.

            Hyrule Field was peaceful for the most part as Lyon crossed it.  There was some bustle at the raised drawbridge, but all else around the vast countryside was quiet.  There was little damage to the area that Lyon could see, except for the roads being all muddy.  As he neared the Ranch, he could see that there was similar damage to the barn and farmhouse as there was to the buildings in Kakariko.  Suddenly reminded of damage, he looked towards the castle, and, sure enough, there was a large, gaping whole right in the front of the keep, about two-thirds the way up to the tallest tower.  Already there was scaffolding making its way up the structure to begin the repairs.  Lyon looked down to the area around the city walls, and saw that the great green pavilion was still standing, and the old baker outside beating a dusty rug.

            "Incredible," Lyon mumbled as he entered the ranch.  

            Lon Lon Ranch was in pretty good shape, all things considered.  Aside from the damage to the farmhouse and the barn, the corral was in slightly damaged with some fence down, and the silo, the stable, and the mill were virtually undamaged.  As Lyon passed the stable, he could hear a sweet, female voice comforting a horse that still whickered in nervousness.

            "It's okay, now, Nita," the girl said.  "The storm is passed, you aren't in any danger anymore.  Shhh…Shhh…"

            Lyon knocked on the door once, and the girl looked up and smiled.  

            "Good day, Lyon," said the redheaded girl.  "I trust you're all right after the storm?"

            "As well as I can be, Malon," he answered, smiling and entering the stable.  "Where's Link?"

            "Oh, my husband's out trying to get all the cows back into the corral.  He shouldn't be much longer.  When he's on Epona, everything just goes so much faster and easier.  Came for some milk and cheese, again?"

            "Yes, ma'am."  He handed over his sack containing two jars and some wax paper to his old friend.  The two of them had known each other for nearly seven years, ever since Lyon had worked on the Ranch for a summer when Malon was with child and couldn't work as much.  He'd worked with Link, her husband, at tending the cattle and horses, as well as running to the castle for deliveries.  Ever since Malon had given birth to a daughter, Elsie, Lyon had been visiting on a bi-weekly basis, as well as offering some help from time to time.  Talon, Malon's father and former owner of the Ranch, took care of Elsie most of the time, but Lyon had done his share of babysitting for the rambuctious six-and-a-half year old.  

            Lyon and Malon were making small talk as she got his supplies when Link entered.

            "Malon, I got the cattle in the…" he stopped when he noticed Lyon standing there.  "Oh!  Lyon, glad to see you!  How've you been?"  Link was a robust man, even at thirty, with golden hair and blue eyes.  His green tunic was stained from dirt and sweat from riding much of the morning.  He wiped his sweaty brow with his long green cap.

            "Well enough, Link," Lyon replied.  "You?"

            "Oh, I'm getting along.  The wife over there keeps me busy enough!"  He laughed heartily, and Malon shot him an "Oh, yeah?" look.  Lyon smiled.  "Nah!  Just kidding!  But I'm fine.  Quite the storm last night, huh?"  

            "Sure was.  I had some minor damage to the house, but nothing I can't fix.  It's expensive, though.  About six hundred rupees to fix everything, though."  Link winced.  "I can afford it, but only barely.  I'll have to put some extra hours in with Gus at the Bazaar to make up for lost funds."

            "Or you can work here a bit.  I don't mind paying you for some help."

            "Thanks for the offer, but I'll probably be okay."

            "Come now," interjected Malon.  "Don't be like that.  You're not so prideful to reject a helping hand when needed.  That's what friends are for!"  Link nodded.  

            "Lyon?" came a childish voice from the door of the stable.  "Lyon!"  In sprang a highly energetic girlchild, barely taller than Lyon's waist, with red-gold hair and green eyes.  She looked to be wearing some old clothes of Malon's, as they were worn and the colors faded, but the smile on her face and the sparkle in her eyes were all her own.

            "Elsie!" Lyon said, crouching down to give the daughter of Malon and Link a hug.  "Wow!  You must have grown a whole inch since I saw you last!"  

            "Really?  Momma!  Daddy!  Did you hear that?  I'm _taller_ now!  Yahoo!!!"  She began to hop around the stable, singing and twirling with the inexhaustible energy of a child.  Lyon laughed as Malon and Link began to chide the girl, and get her to quiet down.  

            At that moment, Talon lumbered in, gray haired and overalls faded.  He had looked better, in months passed, but he was still the hard-working man he had become since Ingo's departure.  "Lyon!" he said in surprise when he caught sight of the visitor.  "What brings you out here?"  Lyon held up his sack.

            "Supplies is all.  But a visit with old friends never hurt anyone."  Talon, Malon, and Link all nodded while Elsie bounded up to her grandpa.  

            "Grandpa!  Lyon says I'm taller!  Am I really?"  Her eyes were wide with excitement.  

            "Elsie," Talon said.  "You get taller every day!  Pretty soon you will be grown up and married with children of your own!"  Elsie schrunched up her nose.

            "No way, Grandpa!  Boys are gross!"  With that, she bounded off again, singing around the stable.  

            "Come now, Elsie," Link said as he ran up to her.  As he had his back facing Lyon, he bent down to pick up his daughter when Lyon had a sudden reminder of his dream the night before.  He suddenly saw Link, clutching a sword in his hand, with three arrows in his back.  He must have gasped, because Link and Malon were now staring at him.

            "What is it, Lyon?  You look like you've seen a phantom."  Lyon just continued to stare at Link, then at Elsie who now looked at him with frightened eyes.


	2. Abductions of Assassinations

The Legend of Zelda:

Orchestra 

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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the LoZ franchise; Nintendo of America and Shigeru Miyamoto own its characters, locations, etc.  However, I do own the aspects of the story that I have created 

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Chapter Two:

Abduction and Assassination 

Lyon blinked and swallowed hard before answering.

            "I'm fine," he said, smiling to reassure them.  "Really.  Just a little…indigestion.  Just…that's all."  Malon and Link were not convinced.  Lyon just smiled again; a smile that they knew from knowing him that they should just drop the subject.  

            "Well, if it's just indigestion," said Malon, rising with Lyon's jars filled with milk, "drink some of this.  You _will_ feel better."  Lyon smiled again, took the milk and drank some.  It was still warm—as expected, fresh from the cow—but flavorful and energizing.  He felt his muscles ease, having not realized they were tense, and his spirit brighten.

            "Thank you, Malon."  She gave him a toothy smile, and Link extended his hand.

            "Say, if you're not busy right now, why don't you stay for lunch?  Pa's cooking up some cucco, and we were just going to sit down when I'd gotten the cattle in the corral."  Link was looking hard at Lyon, searching for a better answer than "indigestion."  

            "Thank you, Link.  I don't have anything planned for this afternoon.  The carpenter I talked to back in Kakariko said that they would get what I need to fix my house to me in a couple more days, and with the city closed off, I can't get into work for the day."  Link's eyes narrowed and his eyes darkened.

            "The city's closed off? What for?"  He set Elsie on the ground, but she stayed next to him, suddenly quiet.  Talon motioned for her to come to him.  She walked slowly to her grandpa, watching the grown-ups talk.

            "I can answer that," Talon said.  "A chunk of the castle keep was blown away during the storm last night, and I hear that the Royal Guard is in a great frenzy that they locked everyone in their homes and sealed off the city."

            "Why would they do that?  What part of the keep?"

            "Haven't you left the ranch yet today?  You can't see it from inside the walls.  Come on, I'll show you."  The five of them left the stable and went to the entrance of the ranch where they could get a good view of the castle.  There it was, a gaping whole in the front of the keep.  Link's jaw dropped when he saw it.

            "Merciful Farore!" he said quietly.  "What could have done that, and left everything of ours still largely intact?"  Lyon shrugged.  

            "Mac in Kakariko says that maybe it's because the castle's on a hill, and we're surrounded by hills.  But I don't know.  I don't understand the weather.  Still, that's one hell of a storm to do _that_!"

            "You know," said Link.  "I think that the whole is right where the Royal Family's apartments are!"  Now there was genuine shock and panic.  Everyone knew that Link had been inside the castle before, and had met with the princess, Zelda, about twenty years ago.  He would be the one to know, of all of them.  They stared in silence as the scaffolding continued to rise slowly towards the damage.

            "Daddy," Elsie said quietly, tugging on Link's tunic.  "Who's the Royal Family?"  Link knelt down and put his arm around her, still looking at the damaged castle.  

            "Well, sweetie," he said.  "The Royal Family are the ones who rule this kingdom.  There's the king, his name is Marcus II, and he is a very kind man, and a very wise man.  He united this kingdom, about the time I was born.  Then there was the queen.  Her name was Mari, but she died during the war, giving birth to the princess.  Her name is Zelda, and she's the most beautiful woman in the kingdom."  He stopped when Malon punched him on the top of his head.  "OW!  Except for your mom, of course!"  He chuckled nervously, as Malon glared at him; Elsie just giggled.  "Then there's the prince, Zelda's husband.  His name is Urso, which means "bear" in the old language.  He is heir to the throne when the king dies.  I'm told that he's a strong man, and worthy of the crown, but that he and Zelda don't always get along."  

            "Oh.  Okay."  Link stood up, and looked at Talon.  

            "Pa, why don't you go get lunch started?  And take Elsie with you."  Talon agreed, and the two of them went back into the ranch.  Link, Malon, and Lyon however, stayed to watch the approaching rider that they'd all seen at the same time.

            It was a member of the Royal Guard that was approaching, clad in shining plate and mail armor, and armed with a spear.  He reigned in before the three of them and looked them over.

            "You, three," he said in a commanding voice.  "There is trouble at the castle, and we require as much Lon Lon milk as you can give us.  Hurry and bring it."  He gestured into the ranch with his spear.

            "Why?" Link demanded.  "What's happened?"  

            "You'll be told when we get to the castle.  Now hurry!"  Link and Malon nodded to the soldier, and went inside.  Lyon followed a moment later, after staring at the soldier for a moment longer.

            "I'll get your cart and horses hitched up, Link."  Link nodded, and Lyon went to the stable.  He opened the great door, which opened up into the rest of the ranch, where Link and Malon kept their cart.  Lyon readied it, and began to hitch up two horses from the stable.  Hopping into the driver's seat, he rode it all the way to the storehouse where Link and Malon stored all of their milk.  Just as he was pulling up, Link emerged carrying a crate of jars full of the ranch's famous drink.  He loaded it onto the cart as Malon emerged, doing the same.  Lyon offered to help, but Link and Malon assured him that they could handle it.  Meanwhile, the soldier had ridden up into the ranch, and was now talking with Talon about where they were headed.  Ten minutes later, and the cart was full.  Malon hopped into the passenger's seat while Link whistled for Epona.  His great red horse appeared a moment later.  They made their way to the Hyrule Field, but stopped to bid farewell to Talon and Elsie.  

            "The soldier told me that they needed all the milk we could bring, but wouldn't say any more.  What do you suppose happened?"

            "Too early to say anything," Lyon said.  Link and Malon nodded.  "Well, kiddo," he said to Elsie.  "I'll see you in a little while, I guess.  Don't get into anymore trouble, hear me?"  She stuck out her tongue at him and giggled. 

            "Don't worry, uncle Lyon.  The farm is safe with me around!"  Lyon laughed, and Link leaned over in his saddle and said something quiet for her ears alone.

            "I love you too, daddy!  Come back soon!"  The group assured her they would, and they were off.  The soldier had been waiting for them outside the ranch, and now began to ride with the group towards the city and the castle.  Lyon looked at the old baker's pavilion as they passed it, and the old baker was sitting in a chair outside the tent, watching with a sad face as the group drove the cart towards the gate.

            As they got to the gate, the soldier shouted up to one of his fellows in the guard tower to let them enter.  The soldier in the tower shouted down to the group to wait while the drawbridge was lowered for them, and not to enter until he said to.  The drawbridge lowered, and the chains jerked slightly with each foot more as it descended.  When the bridge had settled onto the ground, ten more soldiers appeared: six carried spears, and four carried longbows with arrows nocked.  The four archers stood facing Hyrule field, eyes and arms ready for anything, while the six spearmen formed up on either side of the cart.

            "Follow us," said the mounted soldier who'd led them to the city.  "We'll take you to the castle.  Any of you bear arms?"  Link and Malon shook their heads, but Lyon handed over his dirk to the soldier.  "You can have this back when you leave."  The soldier handed to a different soldier, who stood inside the storeroom just behind the drawbridge.  "Come and see him when you leave."  Lyon nodded, and started the cart forward as the mounted soldier led them through the city.

            The city was abandoned; or near enough so that one could not tell unless they knew better.  All shutters were closed, and a soldier stood in front of nearly every building, spear held ready.  The cobble-stoned streets were still wet from the storm the night before, and there was debris and the like from many of the buildings from during the storm littering the area.  From within the city, Lyon could see that the damage to the castle keep was much more than he'd first thought.  The hole was gaping, of that there was no doubt, but from where he was he could actually see _inside_ the keep.  Not very far, of course, but still he could see inside.  The bricks and stones that had been blown away looked as such.  For there was no indication that the stones had been merely lifted from their places and hurled to the castle gardens.  Instead, they looked jagged, and broken, as if something had actually slammed into the walls and shattered them, or something had exploded nearby.  Lyon stared at it for a long time before he looked around the city some more.

            The Bazaar where he worked was closed, of course, along with everything else, but the front window was cracked, and the sign hanging above the door was gone.  Aside from that, the damage to the place was similar to his home and at the ranch.  He thought he could see Gus, his boss, working inside, but he wasn't sure.  As he looked down the alleys and criss-crossing streets of the city, he saw that there was more damage, mostly of the same kind, just _more_.  

            Before much longer, the group was at the castle gates, which were raised.  Another two soldiers joined the other six, and their armed escort led them into the castle itself.

            Link had been inside the castle before, and Malon had been _to_ the castle, back when Talon and her would make deliveries.  But Lyon had never gone any further than the gates to just look at the castle.  As the armed escort led them inside, he was awestruck by the magnificence and immensity of it all.  The cart was stopped just at the entrance of the castle, where teams of soldiers and servants loaded the cases onto handcarts and wheeled them inside.  

            Lyon could see just the foyer and the entrance to the castle, but it was elaborately decorated with hanging tapestries and portraits, and even some small pools along the main walkway that led to the heart of the keep.  Even the lanterns and braziers along the walls and columns were decorative, and the firelight coming from inside them, plus the sunlight coming into the room via the large stained-glass windows and arrow slots turned the interior of the castle a multitude of colors.  Malon laughed as she looked at the young man as Lyon stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the inside of the castle.  Even Link spared a chuckle, but none of the soldiers even smiled.  The mounted soldier told them to get out of the cart, and Link to dismount.

            "I will lead you inside to one of the guest rooms.  They," he indicated to the escort, "will take your cart and horses to the stable.  Follow me."  As they followed the soldier through a small servant's entrance and through the wide and vaulted corridors of Hyrule Castle, Link tried to ask the soldier what had happened, and why they were here.  The soldier made no reply, and quickened his pace.  Lyon stared still open-mouthed at the grandeur of what he saw, even though there was not remotely the decoration in these corridors as their had been in the main entryway.  A few tapestries depicting the places in Hyrule or the events leading to the unification of the Kingdom hung on the walls in brilliant colors and metallic thread, and the red rug they were all walking on absorbed every step they took.  Link muttered something under his breath, which Malon caught, causing her to shake her head.  Lyon didn't hear what he said, so he asked.

            "Oh, it's nothing, Lyon," was all Link said.  With a sudden grin, he said, "Impressed by the castle, huh?"

            "More than I thought I would be.  I imagined walking through these corridors many a time while at the Bazaar, and I imagined that it would be magnificent, but I never imagined this!  When were you here?"  Lyon had known for as long as he'd known Link that he'd visited the castle once before, and met with the princess, Zelda.  But beyond that, Link would never divulge any more information.  Link was silent a while before answering.

"It was a little over twenty years ago, when you were about two, I guess.  I had a…friend…that decided to run away from me, and I went to do the heroic thing and find her.  I borrowed Epona from Malon, and went to get some supplies in the city.  I don't know how she knew me, but Princess Zelda was riding through the city that day, recognized me, and had me brought to the castle.  She claimed we were friends, and had been so for so long, but until that time, I'd only been out of the Kokiri Forest once.  But at the time, I was so enamored with her that I would have agreed to anything she'd said.  She gave me some advice, and I was on my way."  He stopped there, but Lyon sensed that Link had much more to say and a lot more had happened that he would let on.  He was about to push for more information, but the soldier ahead of them stopped suddenly and threw open a heavy wooden door.

"Stay in here until you're summoned for.  A guard will be posted outside your door, so no wandering about.  A servant will be by soon to bring food and drink, so there won't be _any_ _need_ to wander about."  He fixed Lyon with a stare, as if he thought that the young man from Kakariko would take no heed to his instructions.  Lyon frowned at him, but kept his mouth shut.  The soldier motioned for them to enter the room.

The room was as richly decorated as the halls, with embroidered tapestries and thick, richly colored rugs.  There was a wide window that overlooked east of Hyrule, over Kakariko town, up Death Mountain Valley, to the peak of Death Mountain.  It was mid-afternoon now, so the colors hitting the town and the mountain were turning orange and amber.  Also in the room were two large couches, facing each other, with a large glossy wood table between them.  Lyon lay on one of the couches, while Malon busied herself with studying the tapestries.  Link went directly to the window, and stood there watching the sun fall and the moon rise.  A servant arrived not long after the sun finally set, and set a tray with warm bread, cheese, and beer on the table.  The bread was warm and soft, while the beer and the cheese had a pleasant bite to them.  But Link never touched his food.  He stood still as a statue, and his reflection in the glass looked grim.  He seemed to have puzzled out what had happened in the storm the night before.

Lyon found himself thinking of the note and the face.  The note was strange.  He could not comprehend why someone would climb up the hill that his house was upon, nail a note to the door, and run off without explaining anything.  And the face.  That was the most chilling part.  In a flash it was there, and in a flash, it was gone.  Lyon thought long and hard to try and find a name to put to the face.  "Surely it had to be a concerned neighbor checking in on me," Lyon thought.  "Or maybe the sheriff.  He does stuff like that sometimes."  Neither conclusion satisfied him, however.  

But, before he could delve any deeper into his ponderings, the door opened, admitting a tall man, dark of hair and eyes, with a powerful build and a thick beard.  His eyes were bloodshot, with stress lines creasing the corners.  He was pale as well, and looked unwell despite his stature.  A squire entered behind him, carrying a chair.

"I am Prince Urso," he said in a deep, robust voice, bowing to the three of them as he spoke.  "I am sorry for bringing you here so suddenly and keeping you here against your will for so long, but I feel it was necessary.  I welcome you, Link and Malon of Lon Lon Ranch, and you, young man.  I'm afraid we never asked you your name."

"I am Lyon, of Kakariko, Highness."  Lyon bowed in courtesy and custom to the Prince of Hyrule.

"Please, none of that now.  I am weary of courtly gestures.  'My Prince,' will do.  Now, for the reason you've been brought here."  He sat in the chair that his squire had set down for him and rubbed at his temples.  "Last night's storm was much more than the violent storm you have been led to believe.  As you've seen, along with all of the Kingdom, is the giant hole in the keep of this castle.  The hole was blown out by some means we know nothing of, and—"

"—The Princess has been taken prisoner, and many were hurt in her kidnapping," Link interrupted.  Malon whirled and hissed at him to be silent, her eyes berating him for interrupted the prince.  Lyon just stared at Link for his action.  The Prince however, stared at Link for a moment.

"You seem to know more than you should, Master Link," he said with stiffness.  "But that is right.  There is more, but you needn't be troubled by it."  Clearly, though, Prince Urso was troubled, as his words came out with little conviction for such a strong voice.  "But, Master Link and Madame Malon, since you live in the middle of the Kingdom, I was hoping you had seen something during the night.  Anyone leaving the city after nightfall, anything strange at all."  Neither Link nor Malon had seen anything, and they told the prince so.

"There was something…" Lyon started, but stopped short.  The prince looked at him to continue.  "My Prince, well, I don't know if it has anything to do with the princess being captured, but during the storm someone nailed a note to my door, and I saw someone staring into my house, but only briefly."  The prince asked what the note said, and Lyon dug into his pouch, where he'd suddenly realized that he'd put it.  

"Very interesting.  I will have this sent to Master Entil, our head archivist.  He knows many things about notes and the like."  The prince turned to his squire, who departed immediately.  "About this face, did you recognize it?"  Lyon shook his head no.  "A shame.  Anything would be helpful now."  Link sat next to his wife on the couch.  

"Was there a note of some kind?  A ransom, perhaps?"

"Nothing of the sort.  Just a hole in her apartments and no Zelda."  Urso's shoulders slumped.  "There is something else you must know.  Princess Zelda is with child.  Our first.  And I fear for the child's safety as much as my wife's."  The three of them stared hard at Prince Urso with this news.

"So what of the king?" Lyon asked.  "Is he marshalling troops?  Surely he fears for the safety of his daughter as well!"  The prince shook his head.

"The king took a serious injury in the abduction.  That is why we needed your milk, for its rumored healing powers.  The potion shop owner could do little with his concoctions.  We hoped you could."

"I will tell you from personal experience, My Prince," said Link.  "The milk we produce does have some special qualities to it, but to say that it will heal a man from death may be expecting a lot."  

"Yes, that's right," agreed Malon, who had been silent this whole time.  "Our cows are special, and the milk they give is very rejuvenating, I fear that it may not help the king."  She made a gesture, and touched her forhead followed by her shoulders, the sign of the Triforce.  

"In any case, we are trying everything in our power to save him, and get some information about the princess.  I will tell you, if the king dies, there will be a much bigger price for these evil folk to pay!  Thank you for your patience and help.  Please, remain here for the night.  Tomorrow, someone will come for you to take you home.  And Lyon, I will send someone on Master Entil's behalf about your note.  Fare thee well, my people."

"And you also, My Prince," said Lyon and Link, while Malon smiled sadly.  Prince Urso left then, and Link returned to his place at the window.  Lyon found himself growing tired, as was Malon, and they both curled up onto their respective couches, and fell into slumber.  Lyon's sleep was not troubled by nightmares or dreams of any kind this night, but they were awakened some hours later by the ringing of every bell in the city, as well as across Hyrule.  The bells sounded _ring-ringring-ring-ring-ring-ringring_.  

"What are the bells for, Link?" Lyon asked.  Link was still staring out the window.  He was quiet for so long that Lyon feared he may not have heard, but he spoke before Lyon could ask his question a second time.

"The king is dead.  War is upon us now."


End file.
